Electrical toggle-type switches are well known in the electrical art and their construction has not changed drastically over the years.
Probably the most modern mechanical configuration to provide the toggle action is the use of a switch lever that includes a hollow tubular portion extending within the switch housing, which hollow portion carries a spiral spring that provides a bias force on a round-ended plastic plunger partially housed at the end of the tubular portion. The plunger may ride on a pivotal contact plate which includes a detent or depression at its opposite ends so that the only stable positions for the lever are those where the plunger sits in one of the detents. In one case, the contact plate provides electrical continuity between a central contact member on which the plate pivots and on another contact member on one side thereof. In the other case, the contact plate is caused to pivot by the movement of the lever so that the control contact member now provides an electrical conduction path to another contact member located on the opposite side of the central contact.
Although this prior art configuration seems to be simple enough, it should be realized that hundreds of thousands of these switches are manufactured each year because of a continuing need for toggle-type switching and, therefore, a technique which will reduce the number of components will greatly reduce the cost of materials and labor to fabricate these switches. It should also be realized that by reducing the number of components an article of manufacture requires will reduce the number of components that may fail in operation of the device and will thus increase the reliability of the product and, thus, would be considered as a significant advancement of the art.